Russian (non)Intervention in the AWI and it's impact(?)

[bayonetbrant]

https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-07-04/how-russian-meddling-impacted-american-revolution

The Brits didn't realize they were in for a real fight with their colonists in America until the battle of Bunker Hill (or Breed’s Hill, if you want to be pedantic) on June 17, 1775. Britain had by far the biggest navy in the world, but its army, while good, was much smaller than its European rivals'. The key to crushing a revolt is to move swiftly and violently before rebels get organized. And in 1775, Britain simply didn't have the reserves of trained manpower to do this.

What Britain did have was plenty of cash. So it turned to Europe to see if it could purchase military help — and the first country that London turned to was Russia. London asked Catherine the Great of Russia for 20,000 men.

Why did Britain think Russia might help them end the American rebellion?

There were two main reasons Britain thought Russia would agree to help: The Russians needed the money, and they hated rebels.

Russia had just concluded a successful but expensive war against Turkey, and it was also putting out the last flames of a peasant and Cossack revolt in the south, the so-called Pugachev rebellion.

So Russia had more troops than they really needed for peacetime, and a serious need for cash. The Brits hoped to have 20,000 battle hardened Russian troops in Boston by the end of 1775 or early in 1776. It's hard to imagine, but you could have seen Cossacks watering their horses in the Charles River.

In the end, the Russians decided not to help Great Britain. They strung out the talks, and then said no.

[panzerde]

Austria didn’t intervene, either. Nor did Prussia. Also the Papal States chose to stay out of it. Savoy was right out. Bavaria took a pass, as did Saxony. The Dutch? No deal. Likewise, Sweden supplied no mercenary troops to Great Britain.

I could go on.

I get that the subject of Russian interference in American politics is of interest right now. This writer is really, really reaching. This was never a real possibility. Catherine disliked George and often treated British diplomats poorly. She and her government felt that George had wronged the Americans and he was getting his just deserts. She also felt that the Americans winning might be to Russia’s advantage.

Beyond that, Russia had no tradition of hiring out its troops as auxiliaries. The German princes did. They’d done it extensively for the British throughout the 18th century. This was a Hail Mary on the part of the British that they didn’t really expect to succeed. The reporter is vastly overstating the significance.

[bayonetbrant]

2 quick notes

1.  the article is 2 years old.  But yeah, still reaching

2.  wasn't there a familial tie btw the British crown and the Prussians that helped grease the mercenary agreements?

[panzerde]

George was House of Hanover. The German mercenaries came from German states traditionally allied or friendly to Hanover. These were all German Protestant states, which is why they were tied to the British.

[Sir Slash]

Biggest mistake the Brits made was to involve the various Indian tribes in the war, in my opinion. Nothing could unite the colonies like the Indian attacks that followed.